THE SPANISH SERIES TOLEDO THE SPANISH SERIES _EDITED BY ALBERT F. CALVERT_ GOYA TOLEDO MADRID SEVILLE MURILLO CORDOVA VELAZQUEZ THE PRADO THE ESCORIAL ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN GRANADA AND ALHAMBRA SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR LEON, BURGOS & SALAMANCA VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, ZAMORA, AVILA & ZARAGOZA TOLEDO AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE “CITY OF GENERATIONS,” BY ALBERT F. CALVERT, WITH OVER 500 ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVII Printed by BALLANTYNE & CO. LIMITED Tavistock Street, London TO S.A. INFANTA MARIA TERESA IN WHOSE SYMPATHY THE ANCIENT GRANDEUR IS LINKED WITH THE FUTURE GREATNESS OF SPAIN THIS VOLUME WITH AN ASSURANCE OF SINCERE ESTEEM IS DEDICATED PREFACE The author would, in the ordinary way, be hard put to it to frame a reasonable apology for compiling a new volume on the subject of the ancient and royal city of Toledo. Artists have reproduced its wonder of imposing and picturesque detail; archæologists have explored its many monuments; historians have discovered in its archives a record which, for many centuries, represents the log-book of Spain. There is no secret, apart from the impenetrable mystery of its origin, which has not been revealed; its chronicle is a well-thumbed volume. The beginnings of Spanish history go no further back than the earliest references we have to the natural stronghold founded on the seven rocks on the banks of the Tagus, and Spanish tradition claims for the citadel an antiquity coeval with the sun and stars. Both the history and the legends have been transcribed in many languages, yet, in a series which is intended to embrace all Spain in its compendious design, the inclusion of the twice-told tale of the “city of generations” carries with it an unquestionable justification.